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New Brunswick scores a B+ on Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance 2009 National Energy Efficiency Report Card

Thursday, August 19th 2010 11:38:36am

Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance Releases its 2009 National Energy Efficiency Report Card
New Brunswick is Awarded a B+

(Fredericton, August 19, 2010) The Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA) released their 2009 National Energy Efficiency Report Card in Edmonton, Alberta today. The Report Card evaluates the federal, provincial, and territorial governments on their energy efficiency performance every two years. This year’s scores reflect activities occurring between January 2008 and December 2009.

New Brunswick received a B+, a higher score then the B- they received in 2007.

"We're very pleased with the progress we’re seeing in energy efficiency across the country,” said Ken Elsey, President and CEO of the CEEA. “This is the first year that we’ve seen three provinces receive a grade of A+, and most jurisdictions have either improved or maintained their previous score.”

According to CEEA’s Report Card, New Brunswick's higher score can be attributed to the aggressive targets established in its Climate Change Action Plan: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2012, a 2.2 million tonnes reduction in GHG and 10% below 1990 levels by 2020. They are focusing on energy efficient vehicle procurement and are carrying out anti-idling policies. They have introduced various Energy Efficiency Awareness Campaigns increasing public awareness and are leading by example by investing over $300 million in green building construction in the current year. They have some progressive policies such as the New Brunswick Developer’s Guide to Renewable Energy to help developers understand and use the development and approval process. Overall, New Brunswick continues to show great improvement on the energy efficiency front.

"With the rising cost of energy and increased environmental concerns, Canadians expect all levels of government to take action on energy efficiency,” Elsey continued. “The federal government has an important role in this. Their support of conservation initiatives will continue to be essential if Canada is to achieve energy sustainability in the future.”

The federal government scored a B+ in the Report Card, a mark that Elsey claims was attributed to the effort put forth by the federal government through their ecoENERGY program. “The ecoENERGY program was a tremendously successful program and showed real leadership, it has helped motivate the provinces and territories. They have a solid team of professionals on staff ready to do more—we’re just waiting for the political will to move energy efficiency into the high priority category.” Elsey concluded.

CEEA’s bi-annual Report Card evaluates federal, provincial, and territorial governments on their energy efficiency performance across a number of key parameters; how each province has kept promises made at the Council of the Federation meeting (July 2008), the effectiveness of their own programs, initiatives in transportation, support for energy efficiency in building codes and product standards, how the jurisdictions supported energy efficiency and public outreach, the existence of public/private partnerships to support energy efficiency initiatives, and creation of energy efficiency acts, amongst others.

Report Card highlights include three A+ grades for Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, and three most improved provinces; Alberta, PEI, and Nunavut. Alberta scored a B+ up from the D+ they received in 2007. PEI moved from a D to a B, and Nunavut from a C to a B. Some of the provinces that saw a drop in their score included British Columbia, going from an A+ to an A, Saskatchewan from a B+ to a B-, and the Northwest Territories moved from a B+ to a C.

“British Columbia should be commended for their exceptional energy efficiency efforts over the last couple of years, but it’s hard to maintain an A+, the competition amongst the top provinces is significant —the bar is being constantly raised.” Elsey concluded. “It’s great to see Alberta jump from a D+ to a B+, that’s a huge improvement, and something Alberta must be congratulated for. We expect the leader in energy production to set the example for energy efficiency in the future! We’ve been hoping for this since the first Report Card was released ten years ago.”

This year marks the tenth year that CEEA has evaluated federal, provincial and territorial government’s energy efficiency activities. With energy becoming more expensive, with its impact on the environment and the economic opportunity that comes with a sustainable energy plan—it is an increasingly critical part of the government’s responsibility.

“Since our first Report Card released in 1999, CEEA has seen a great improvement in energy efficiency measures across the country. We can only hope that the trend to achieving A+ will continue. As Canada’s energy consumption continues to rise, and with supply dwindling, conservation and efficiency are crucial issues for all Canadians.” concluded Elsey. “This report shows Canadians how well their elected officials and senior bureaucrats are dealing with this issue.”
A copy of the Report Card can be found online at energyefficiency.org/News.html.

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For more information, please contact:

Don Huff, Environmental Communication Options
Office: 416.972.7404
Cell: 416.805.7720
huffd@huffstrategy.com
The Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance (CEEA), a broad-based, not-for-profit organization, was established (1995) to respond to the lack of a coordinated multi-stakeholder effort to promote energy efficiency in Canada, leading to enhanced competitiveness and improved environmental protection. The CEEA works in partnership with manufacturers, utilities, governments, builders, labour, consumer groups, and environmental organizations to facilitate the adoption of energy efficiency measures in Canada. The CEEA is supported through fees and project contributions from members.